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Real Instruments Are Expressive

On a guitar, you can play the same note a hundred different ways. You can tell that it’s Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen just after a couple notes. Every guitarist vibratos their notes, but BB King is famous for his vibrato. This is possible because a guitar, like most physical instruments has potential for rich dynamic expression.

And this expression is connected to your energy. If you want to make your sound have more “attitude”, you just play with more attitude. If you want a softer tone, you simply play more gently. You don’t say “I want more attitude so I’ll add high frequency content by increasing the velocity of my pick attack by 30%”.  This is precisely what you have to do with the current tools for playing electronic instruments. This thought process creates hesitation which disconnects you from your creative flow.